Chuunin exams in the middle of the war are shorter. At least, that's what Minato-sensei tells them. They go on for three days instead of three weeks. To be perfectly honest, Yoruichi couldn't care less. She follows her team to training ground number 44, which is called the Forest of Death. The name almost makes her laugh.

She listens to the chief examiner as he explains the rules of the first test. It's a mission simulation where they have to protect a scroll containing vital information and reach the tower that's somewhere inside the training ground.

"You have twenty-four hours to reach the tower with the scroll. If you lose your scroll, you are disqualified. If you are late, you are disqualified. Am I clear?"

Obito and Kakashi look very confident. Well, it's similar to their first mission outside of Konoha so they will probably do great. That, and her team is quite skilled.

The chief-examiner continues. "The teams won't enter at the same time."

This declaration is met with people objecting.

"What?"

"That's not fair!"

"Silence!" shouts the examiner. "Do you think you'll get all the intel before a mission? This is chuunin exams. Life is unjust, you better accept it."

He stares at them, his dark eyes hard. "As I was saying, the teams won't enter at the same time. You'll have twenty four hours from the moment your gate opens. Which is better conditions than what I would have myself permitted."

Yoruichi meets Anko's brown eyes. The girl nods with a smile on her face. Yoruichi winks at her and follows the examiner that leads them to their entrance. The other teams are led elsewhere.

"Let's get it straight to the tower!" shouts Obito as the examiner gives him the scroll looking sceptical before leaving them. "I bet we could finish this stage of the exam in a few hours."

"Don't be stupid, they'll have traps and experienced senpai will most likely attack us to make this harder," says Kakashi.

He takes the scroll from Obito's hands. The boy is about to protest but stops when Kakashi gives it to her. She arches a purple eyebrow.

"You can hide it better than either of us with your fuuinjutsu."

She can't help but to tease him.

"Oh, baby boy. It's the very first time you compliment me, I'm so touched!"

Obito snorts. "Seems like Kakashi can't deny your superiority for once."

"Shut up."

Yoruichi lets out a small smile. She removes her jacket, revealing her backless top and puts it on the floor. Obito suddenly turns around, ears red.

"Wha… What are you doing?"

"She's sealing the scroll, stupid," answers Kakashi.

Eh, seems like the youngest hasn't had the 'serpent enters the cavern' talk yet contrary to Obito. Yoruichi places the scroll onto the back of her white jacket and makes a few hand signs before touching the fabric. A second later, a black butterfly decorates it.

"Hiding it in plain sight," says Kakashi. "Clever."

She puts her jacket on again and smiles. "Who do you take me for?"

A couple hours later, they finally enter through gate number twelve and immediately run towards the center of the training ground. It's the most likely position for the tower. After a couple of minutes, they jump on the trees to better position themselves. The canopy of the forest is denser than what she imagined. It's dark and cold, and the humidity is quite unpleasant against her skin.

"Why a butterfly?" suddenly asks Obito. "Not that it's not pretty, and you're a girl but…"

She will let this slightly offensive comment slide and instead answers him honestly.

"It represents a friend."

"You mean, Anko?"

She shakes her head. "One I've lost a long time ago."

That shuts the boy up but strangely, thinking of Sui-Feng doesn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

They're about to cross a small stream when she feels a team tailing them. She's not familiar with any of the chakra signatures, so it's probably not one of their former classmates.

"We have company."

"Position?" asks Obito.

"Behind us. Non-aggressive, they're keeping at a safe distance for now."

"Let's speed up," says Kakashi.

The three are used to long runs with Minato-sensei. He never pushes them too far, but he doesn't let them slack off to say the least. They'll be able to maintain this rhythm for a long time. They could even have enough energy to sprint if need be. The unknown team still follows but they're using much more chakra now.

Obito turns to her. "Do they look like they'll engage?"

"No, they're keeping the distance. I don't think they're examiners pretending to be an enemy team."

"Genin like us?"

Kakashi scoffs. "The losers probably want us to pave the way for them."

The journey to the tower is quiet until they arrive at a clearing. She stops. The trees are spaced a lot more and something isn't quite right.

"Yoruichi?"

"A team, hundred meters in front of us. Ready to attack."

Eh, to say that two teams joined forces against them is somewhat amusing. Are they cautious or do they want to humiliate the newbies?

"The one behind us is speeding up," she adds.

"Tsch. They probably think they can corner us,' says Kakashi.

Obito turns to her. He's silent for once and his eyes are searching hers.

"What?"

"It's just… You don't like to fight much, don't you?"

What a sweet boy. It's actually a wonder why young girls prefer baby broody compared to the chivalrous boy in front of her.

"Don't worry about me. I can kick asses when it's necessary. Kakashi?"

"Let's sprint and complete the first task. We don't have time for trash."

Obito rolls his eyes. The boy then chuckles when he sees she did the same.

"What if they put traps in place?" he asks.

"Can't be better than yours and Yoruichi's. Let's go."

A half-smile appears on her face as they jump forward. The compliment has been grunted but it's there.

As a matter of fact, the other genin haven't set up traps and her team crosses over them by sheer speed. They seem to be older, maybe twelve or thirteen. They are stunned and hurry to try and catch them but it's too late. Ten minutes later, Yoruichi and her team are safe inside the tower. Not that they were really endangered in the first place but, eh, whatever.

They give the scroll to the waiting examiner who unrolls it. "Alright. It's an original."

"Oh, do you mean people try to come with a copy?" asks Obito.

"More often than not, actually."

The chuunin puts the scroll away. "Your team is the first to arrive. You can go to the infirmary if you wish to. The common area is open if you wish to wait there. Your team was also assigned a dorm. Just search for room number fifteen on the fourth floor."

"What will the second task be?" she asks.

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow to know. Be sure to check in at eleven in the main hall. Alright?"

The second stage of the exam is team fighting. Yoruichi hopes she can get away with not doing her best. The proctor told them the loss of a match doesn't mean a participant won't be able to access the last round. The fights will take place in the main hall, and the other team will be able to watch from the balconies that surround the room. It's a pretty dull place, concreted over. Yoruichi guesses it's designed that way to better study the participants' techniques.

Anko's team is the first to go. They're against Hayate, Ibiki and their teammate whom she has totally forgotten the name of. To be honest, she also barely remembers Anko's teammates' names. They probably find her rude but eh, she doesn't care. Hayate and Ibiki are doing most of the work and Anko, even if she's improved a lot, she can't take them alone.

Actually, the Hyuuga in her team is good but it all comes down to teamwork and it seems Orochimaru didn't emphasize on it. Ibiki is clever and has clearly seen an opening through it. They have less raw power, but Hayate handles his blade very well. It makes Yoruichi think about her former life and zanpakuto. She's never really liked using her sword, even after unlocking her bankai. It's even less likely she would take up kenjutsu in this new world.

Ibiki taunts them, Anko falls for it and a few minutes later, team Orochimaru has lost. Yoruichi doesn't pay attention to the next few fights, prefering to go and greet Anko. She's next to her sensei and is grumbling. The girl is mostly mad at herself.

"You better kick Ibiki's ass in the finals, Yoruichi. I won't accept him lording this over me."

"I'm not even in the finals yet."

"It's pretty obvious you'll be, duh."

Yoruichi is flattered by the girl's trust. Had she not been so set on not getting attention, she might have done her very best.

"You never know," is all she replies before returning to her team. Orochimaru is giving her the creeps with his carefully crafted smile. Kurotsushi never quite pretended like Orochimaru did. His expression is more similar to Ichimaru Gin if she thinks about it.

Her team is the last one. Their opponent is team Chouza, composed of Genma, Ebisu and Guy, their former classmates.

"My eternal rival, Kakashi! My team and I will definitely give our best during this glorious fight for chuunin promotions."

Ebisu tries to shut him up which turns into an argument and Genma sighs.

Team Minato deadpans.

"Are they for real?" asks Obito.

"As if you and Kakashi are any different," she says, chuckling as Obito splutters. "Hey, baby boy. You should answer your eternal rival."

Kakashi clicks his tongue in response. Eh, he really doesn't know how to take a joke. The proctor announces the start of the fight and Guy runs to Kakashi. The kid is pretty fast which surprises her. Not so bad for a dude who can't use chakra like them. Obito faces Genma and she feels like they will be equally skilled. Ebisu though, is quite a bit arrogant.

"You should give up, Yoruko."

Did he just?

"The name's Yoruichi and I had better grades than you at the academy. Why the hell should I give up?"

"Grades are not everything. And even if you have Kakashi in your team, Obito is the lamest. You should…"

He continues to talk while their teammates are fighting and honestly, the boy talks a lot. She tunes him out. Kakashi is playing with Gai, and she can't quite explain why. The boy usually wants to finish things fast. He's obviously better, not having any scraps while the green clad boy already has bruises.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" shouts Ebisu.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

He makes a disbelieving sound. "What disrespect. I'll have you know…"

"I don't care either way, specs."

She attacks with taijutsu and he seems to be at least a bit skilled because he evades her first punch. She's not really into her fight, the boy is very predictable. From the corner of her eyes, she sees Obito and Genma. They are in fact, pretty well matched, giving punch for punch, jutsu for jutsu.

"My teammate Guy specializes in hand to hand combat, you'll never surprise me. Kunoichi don't get as much taijutsu practice which means you have no chance of winning against me. Girls are just weaker, it's a fact."

Doesn't he ever shut up? She's not in the mood to listen to him anymore. He's called her Yoruko, insulted Obito and on top of it, spits misogynistic bullshit. Yoruichi doesn't want to wait for an opening, she's had enough of this asshole. With sheer speed, she gets into his personal space, deflects a punch with her left arm and gives it all with a right hook in his face. Ebisu falls, unconscious. He's lucky she hasn't broken his nose. He has deserved the black eye that's already forming though.

"Ebisu!" shouts Gai.

His moment of distraction costs him the fight against Kakashi. He drops as well, and can't quite get up again even if he's still awake. Kakashi and her jump next to Obito, ready to support him.

"I guess, that's it," sighs Genma. "My team forfeits!" he shouts to the proctor. "Can't quite go against three people."

Medic-nins approach Guy and the boy is already sprouting shit about springtime or something, almost ready to walk by himself. She can respect his determination even if he's loud as fuck.

"Hey, Genma!" calls Yoruichi.

"Hm?"

His senbon is still in his mouth, even after all these months out of the academy. She guesses it's not just to look cool anymore and she wonders how he fights with it.

"Tell your teammate to stop his kunoichi nonsense, and to never insult my friends ever again. Next time, I won't be as nice."

His eyebrows arch even though a half smile appears on his face. "As nice, huh? I'll make sure he gets the message."

Minato-sensei welcomes them back with a smile. Yoruichi feels better just seeing it and she begins to understand why all the women in this village have a sweet spot for her sensei.

"You did well, I'm proud of you all."

Obito preens and even though Kakashi stays silent, she can tell he's content.

"Say, Yoruichi," asks the Uchiha boy. "You were quite hard on Ebisu. Why's that?"

Her mood sours again. "The prick stated kunoichi were inferior to men and he said bad things about you."

"Oh, really? I don't mind, I'm used to it."

Obito tries to hide his hurt but the light in his eyes dims nonetheless. The boy might put a strong front but she knows it bothers him.

"Well, nobody gets to say shit about my friends. Period."

Obito blushes but his smile is back. Minato-sensei chuckles and ruffles their hair. Kakashi can't escape either and they all pout, trying to break free.

"My cute little genin are growing up, this is heartwarming!"

"Sensei, stop it!"

They have to wait an hour until the proctor announces the examiners decision. "The next stage is also fighting based. However, you will be on your own against your opponent."

Kakashi and Obito will participate but she's not selected. Genma and Guy will also advance in the third round, as well as Ibiki and Hayate. Anko and her team will not and the girl screams at the injustice Yoruichi faces.

"But you trashed Ebisu!"

"That's probably why they didn't want me in the next stage of the exams."

"That's a load of crap. We both know why the shitheads didn't want you there."

"Eh…" she shrugs

The next day, Yoruichi teammates have their fights. Obito loses his first match against Guy who has an insane amount of energy. Kakashi wins the tournament based-stage, even against older participants. She's not surprised when he's promoted Chuunin.